vees:blog

* 2007/2008 BCHL Rookie of the Year Zac Dalpe has been listed as one of the top 5 prospects in the Carolina Hurricanes system by NHL.com in their league wide summer check-ups.

* Weird to say it but ‘ALUMNI’ Curtis McKenzie has been the talk of many hockey people over the last few days. Apparently the Red Deer Rebels are still intent on luring C-Mac to play in the WHL this season (see the bottom of Greg Drinnan’s Wednesday posting). Despite mulling over his options last summer (BCHL vs. WHL) and choosing Penticton and the fact C-Mac earned a full-ride to Miami of Ohio in the pre-season, the Rebels are still chasing the power forward. Here’s a good scouting profile on the Golden (BC) boy, if you need a refresher on his sensational seventeen-year-old season.

I spoke with Curtis today on the phone and he said he’s still intent on going to college, but wasn’t going to shut down any dialogue with the Rebels. If Curtis gets a chance to talk to Brent Sutter, maybe he can ask why the Flames drafted Spencer Bennett of the Surrey Eagles over him in June’s Entry Draft, as that seemed to boggle some minds in BCHL circles.

In other hockey news…

* Colorado draft pick Matt Duchene must be out of soap… don’t believe me? Check out his dirty hands caught on film at the World Junior Camp in Calgary Saskatoon. If he’s not in Colorado I’d be shocked, but dang, if he’s in Saskatchewan over X-mas Holidays that would be quite a gift for Canadian hockey fans.

* In Garrett Milan sized news, Darren Dregger of TSN is reporting that 41-year-old Theo Fleury is planning a return to the NHL. Fleury claims he’s been sober for four years. He must have been inspired by Claude Lemieux’s comeback last season. One day Theo’s jersey will be in the rafters of the SutterSaddledome, but until then he could certainly sell tickets in Abbotsford and maybe even help the Flames who are lacking offensive weapons after losing Bertuzzi and Cammalleri from last season’s squad… hmmmm.